1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage, and in particular relates to shelving for such items as shoes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because many people have many pairs of shoes that may be purchased for use for different types of occasions and to coordinate with their clothing, it is desirable to have efficient and organized use of space in residential homes and apartments. Thus, there are many storage organizers, shelving units, and other storage systems known in the art for storing shoes, and many more such systems for storing other items in the home or office. For example, numerous types of shoe racks have been developed for storing shoes in a convenient manner; some of which hold the shoes in a vertical orientation, such as on hoops, pegs or in pouches, while others retain the shoes in a horizontal, side-by-side position, such as on shelving, bars, or a cubby system. These methods for storing shoes are often designed around the physical restraints imposed by the shoe geometry, including width, height, and length, as well as restraints due to where the storage means are to be placed in the home. Examples of means to store shoes include boxes for holding one or more pairs of shoes, racks of various designs having multiple prongs or shelves on which the shoes may be placed, and hanging storage units with multiple bags or slots for shoes.
Storage units for shoes may be placed in closets or in bedrooms for use by the owner when dressing; however, for storage of the large number of pairs of shoes owned by typical consumers, there is often insufficient space to place bulky free-standing shelves or cabinets or boxes that will hold all of their shoes. Therefore people often must resort to stacking shoe boxes and containers on high shelves or under beds or in other out-of-the-way places, or to disorganized storage in larger boxes or bags in order to store the shoes out of sight when not in use.
Similar problems occur of course with the storage of other items in the home, for example, in the pantry or garage, such as storage of canned goods, hardware, tools, cosmetics and other personal items.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a storage unit that can be fit into the closet of a home without taking any normally used space in the closet. It is an object of the preferred embodiments of the invention herein to provide a storage unit that may be used for shoes and shoe-sized items; however, the size and relative dimensions of the invention herein may be varied for particular uses without departing from the invention herein.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.